It's been two years since FOX called it a day with the critical smash Arrested Development. Even though it has a cult following, it could never garner any ratings.

Heck, I never watched.

However, with the advent of Jason Bateman as a legitimate movie star ("Juno," "Hancock"), I thought I'd give the show a try. Given that I'm hopped up on cold meds, there is nothing I'd rather do than sit here and watch the 'Net anyway.

I'm an idiot.

We are idiots.

All of us who didn't watch this show are idiots.

We are to blame for the TV demise of possibly one of the two or three funniest, smartest shows I have ever seen. I've watched nine episodes so far, and AD at this point fits alongside The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm and every other great comedy series of the past 15 years or so.

In structure, it reminds me of SOAP, the ABC show from the 1970s -- a terribly funny show. However, the writing and acting on Arrested Development is inspired. In a nutshell, Bateman plays the straight man to everyone in his crazy family.

Perhaps my favorite character thus far is Tobias Funke, played by David Cross. In an attempt to win favor with his daughter, who was buying leather clothes to piss off her anti-leather mom (Portia De Rossi) in Episode 9, Tobias goes to a leather shop and asks the guy behind the counter to set him up with "some leather for Dad," to which the counter guy said, "You mean a leather daddy?

What happens after that is AS funny as anything I have ever seen.

I'm telling you: Brilliance.

The good news is that multiple sources suggest an Arrested Development movie is on the way soon. There are 53 episodes to watch on Hulu and then a DVD set to buy, and consider me a member of that cult following.

But feel free to toss obscenities my way because I'm one of the millions who failed to embrace this show while it was on.

In the meantime, here are some video highlights of Tobias Funke: